News / Leading Lights
The Stokes Croft hub set to change the lives of young people
Furniture sits abandoned in the empty, graffiti-riddled premises of the former Wise Beans café in Stokes Croft.
But this forlorn venue could soon be transformed into a community hub to help improve the lives of young people with social, emotional and mental health issues, who would otherwise slip through the net.
Leading Lights is the social enterprise behind the ambitious bid to turn the defunct café into a multipurpose venue that would provide a safe space for some of Bristol’s most isolated and vulnerable groups, as well as a facility and cafe for the general public to enjoy.
is needed now More than ever
Since the news broke about the plans, the social enterprise has been inundated with support from across the city, as well as calls from people in need of the services it provides.
There are plans to put a ‘coffee hatch’ in the City Road side of the building
The people leading the project speak exclusively to Bristol24/7 about their vision for the future.
“We are so excited about the new project – we have wanted it right from the start and, if this goes well, we would like to expand the concept out to other areas,” says Sarah-Louise Hopkins, director of Leading Lights.
“There are so many young people with mental health issues and services just can’t cope.”
Leading Lights started in London before expanding into Bristol and provides a holistic service to support young people with social, emotional or mental health issues, and their families, through educational tuition, practical advocacy, mentoring and more.
The Stokes Croft hub would enable the organisation to expand its offering and also play a key role in helping to combat isolation faced by young people who miss a lot of mainstream education.
“Some of our kids suffer from high levels of social anxiety, so teaching at home is perfect, but for a lot of them, not having friends and being isolated is a really big problem,” continues Sarah-Louise.
“What the hub enables us to do is to be able to offer small group classes so we can provide the support they need, but also reduce levels of isolation.”
Sarah-Louise worked in frontline services before setting up Leading Lights, and she became increasingly aware that, largely due to funding cuts and charities having to specialise, young people were being sent to multiple different places to get the support they need.
Leading Lights was formed to meet a gap in provision and its ethos is to treat each individual with love.
“People shy away from the word ‘love’ in family services, but you can be professional and still act with love,” says Sarah-Louise.
“If you are a suicidal 16-year-old, and you are trying self-refer and have perhaps had bad experiences, we need a person who brings love into that conversation.
“What’s quite scary is there are still relatively few stats on the group we work with – they are the ones who slip through the net.
“There is now more awareness of mental health, which is positive, but it does seem to be escalating and we are seeing younger and younger kids affected, or suffering in silence.”
Kimberly Rogers, Alexandra Karavias and Sarah-Louise Hopkins from Leading Lights
The team are still waiting to get the go-ahead from the council’s planning department before they can proceed with plans for the defunct café, but are hoping they will be ready to open the doors early in the summer.
The new centre will be able to offer practical advocacy for parents, mentoring for kids who have been bullied, creative writing for young people, small group teaching classes for pupils who are not in school, as well as cooking, gardening and well being workshops.
Companies have offered to come and run coding and 3D printing workshops, and there will be after-school provision and the chance for groups, organisations and charities to hire the premises free of charge.
On the café side of things, Leading Lights is looking for someone to take on the running of this on a profit share basis, with the plan being to open the café up for sit-in food and drinks some days a week and operate a takeaway hatch the rest of the time.
The idea is to compliment the area, rather than duplicate what’s already available. A community kitchen will open up the chance for friends, family and neighbours to cook and dine together.
The social enterprise is fundraising to make this vision a reality and is seeking support from the wider community, as well as volunteers to help with the renovation work.
Leading Lights wants to complement the existing offer in Stokes Croft
To donate, visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/leadinglightseducationandwellbeing.
Read more: Plans to transform defunct Stokes Croft cafe
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